This subject (equipment costs) has come up many time here. In my very humbled opinion, I see nothing wrong with very expensive equipment being reviewed. Actually, to me, it is absolutely necessary for expensive equipment to be reviewed.
If a company or person takes the time to do the research, engineer, design, construct, market and sell a piece of equipment, and places a high price on it, that is that person's or company's right. nothing is forcing us to purchase it. At least not yet.
This is the same for automobiles, trucks, airplanes (private), watches, you name it. There is a low end, mid level and high end for just about anything. And (shouldn't start a sentence with and), there will always be people out there that have issues with something at one of those levels.
The very high end crowd has issues with low end equipment being reviewed. "Why is that here?". The very low or mid level crowd has issues with stupidly expensive equipment being reviewed. Again, "why is that here?".
Sometimes it is fun and educational to read about very expensive equipment. Trickle down technology does indeed happen in this industry.
What I have problems with are reviewers that make up their own language and I can't figure out what they are saying. Or reviewing stupidly expensive equipment and saying that it is a bargain. Or only reviewing stupidly expensive stuff.
Don't get me wrong, if you have serious money, you have to spend it on something. So, people with high end stuff, like private jets, yachts, cars, watches, homes, etc. you go! That stuff has to be reviewed somewhere.
But regardless of whether it is reviewed, how many of us have purchased expensive equipment or cars without test driving it first? Even used cars (this could be a very serious mistake without seeing it up close). If a nearby dealer won't let me take a piece home for in-home demo, then I have a serious problem purchasing it from them. In my home, in my system is the only real test. But, I do understand that this can't happen for everyone.
Now, if you heard up close the 30k equipment and thought it was junk or not close to what the reviewer stated, then I think your opinion counts to a larger degree. If, however, you haven't, then that is another matter altogether.
Most of our families, friends, associates, etc. would think we were absolutely nuts if they knew how much you paid for each piece, and, they wouldn't sit still long enough for you to explain it to them and your reasoning. Tell the truth here. To them, we are the nutty elitist. And to some degree, they are correct. To them, the level of music enjoyment we desire is crazy. They probably listen to music as background music only, while doing something else, and couldn't care less about sound stage, etc.
Also, with regards to the virus issue, This is not like a cold or the flu. Virus' are getting much nastier. They are evolving to harder to detect and treat. People have lost jobs, livelyhood, family members, lives. This is no joke. And as is many other cases, there are "know it alls" out there that as we used to say, "couldn't program a VCR back in the day", but their scientific opinion is supposed to matter.
There's an old saying, "your right to smoke ends at my nose".
I for one, am not trying to catch this virus. I don't want to be a statistic. So, I'm not taking any chances and I don't associate with people that do. What are they going to say if they inadvertently give it to you? I'm sorry, nope, they won't even know they did it, and they, nor your family will be able to see you. People dying all alone in a hospital room??? that is really sad.
Back to topic. If I had the money for an Audio Research REF 10 pre-amp, I would definitely get one, and I wouldn't tell anyone how much I paid for it, because they would think I was crazy.
enjoy
